Stratford vs. Cy Ridge High School - 02.06.24

On Tuesday February 6, 2024, the Stratford Girls Varsity Soccer Team traveled north to the Beltway & 290 to face off with the Cy Ridge Rams in their 5th District game of the season. Right from the start of the game, the Rams made it very clear that they were going to do everything possible to keep the Spartans from scoring – which included playing 8-9 girls in a defensive formation in front of the goal. This plan worked for the first 25 minutes of the first half, as Stratford had 10+ shots on goal that couldn’t find the way through the sea of defenders. In the 26th minute, Senior Captain Lizzie Emerson, played her first minutes of the 2024 season after coming off an injury incurred several months ago. It was great to have her back on the field for the green and white and a short time later as the half was winding down, Junior Ryann Weber worked the ball up the middle of the field and found Freshman Sophia Beviacqua with a quick touch. Beviacqua gave the ball up to Freshman Juliana Molinas, who was all alone on the right side. Molinas fired a hard shot from just outside the 18 to the far corner where the goalie had no chance to defend the goal, and got the Spartans on the board, 1-0.

Coming out of halftime, you could see that Stratford had started to wear down the Cy Ridge defense, and it didn’t take long for the Lady Spartans’ persistence to pay off. In the 53rd minute, Sophomore Sara Benton would send a long pass from near midfield on the left side to the far right corner of the pitch where Junior Ryann Weber took on two defenders and fired a shot in the top left corner of the goal to increase the lead to 2-0. And then just 4 minutes later, Molinas made a quick pass in the middle of the field to Junior Mary Paul, who faked right and came back left with a laser to the upper 90, giving the Rams' keeper no chance to defend the shot and allowing the 3rd goal of the night from the Spartans. Following this goal, Senior Goalkeeper Jenna Dunavin made her Varsity debut and would defend the Stratford goal for the remainder of the game. At the 60-minute mark, Freshman Audrey Brendel stole the ball at midfield and made a long pass up the right side of the field to Weber, who outran her defender and then made a tough shot just inside the right post look easy to increase the lead to 4-0. In the 62nd minute, following a save by the Cy Ridge goalie – the keeper shanked a very short punt that was intercepted by Beviacqua, which she then lofted over the out-of-position goalie for the 5th and final goal of the night by the Spartans, keeping them undefeated in District play and earning their 5th straight win.

Stratford vs. Memorial High School - 02.09.24

On Friday February 9, 2024, the Varsity Girls Soccer Team hosted District rival, Memorial High School. The Spartans were looking to extend the current win streak over the Mustangs to five straight -- dating back to the 2021-22 season. With the bleachers starting to fill up as game time approached, a light mist blew across the field leaving everything with a slick surface – which would eventually turn into a cloud of humidity hanging over the field. Both teams would come out ready for a war. The Lady Spartans earned a corner kick in the opening minutes that just missed its mark and another shot just offline soon after. The Stratford defense would get tested at the 6-minute mark when the Memorial midfield sent a long pass downfield that was picked up by their forward and as the Mustang was attempting the shot, Junior GK Liv Harbison would accept the challenge head-on, stopping the forward momentum and knocking the shot offline that was then kept out of the goal by Junior Hannah Ryan. In the 7th minute, Junior Ryann Weber sent a long pass upfield to Junior Allison Goodwin, whose shot just missed its mark. At the 21-minute mark, SHS earned a corner kick from the left side that was taken by Sophomore Sara Benton. Benton sent a perfect ball to the back post, where Senior Lizzie Emerson headed the ball to the far post and was only kept out of the goal when it bounced off the defender protecting the near side. In the 26th minute, Emerson sent the ball upfield to Goodwin, who outran two defenders, but was blocked by the goalie as she protected the near post – denying the Spartans' shot on goal. As the clock ticked under a minute remaining in the first half, the Spartans earned another corner kick that was a rerun of the one just 20 minutes earlier. Benton got a great foot on the ball and Emerson was there for the header that was on its way into the goal, but was snagged by the goalie before finding its mark. SHS would get one more opportunity before halftime. With 5 seconds remaining, Freshman Audrey Brendel lofted a ball along the endline to the far post where Junior Mary Paul just missed a header into the goal as time was expiring. The first half ended knotted at zero and while SHS controlled possession and had several deep runs, it looked like the victory would ultimately go to the team who wanted it more.

Just 30 seconds into the second half, Harbison would get tested right away with a high shot from the far side of the field, but she was able to punch it away and extinguish the effort from the Mustangs. In the 43rd minute, Goodwin would steal the ball off of a deflection at midfield and work back toward the MHS goal. She faked to the middle of the field and then came back right, dribbling to right outside of the 18 and fired a hard shot that was just a bit high, bouncing off the crossbar and missing its mark. Then just a minute later, the Mustangs would work the ball up the right sideline, taking it all the way down to the corner, before reversing direction and centering the ball in front of the goal, where the waiting forward would take a shot that found its mark, but not before going through a MHS players legs who was positioned in front of the goal blocking the SHS goalie’s sightline. As the ball found the back of the net, the Mustangs were quick to celebrate, but at the same time three of the Stratford defenders raised an arm, signaling that the player was offsides. The head referee signaled the goal and Junior Captain Mary Paul quickly approached him to challenge the call and asked for him to review the call with the assistant referee. Seconds later, he called off the goal citing the offsides infraction, keeping the game scoreless. About 10 minutes into the second half, the humidity started to take effect on the girls, with players from both sides going down with cramps or at a minimum trying to stretch their legs when and where they could. At the 48-minute mark, Goodwin came out of the game with persistent leg cramping and needed to get it worked out to be able to finish the game. There was lots of back-and-forth over the next 15 minutes of play, when in the 63rd minute, Memorial centered a long ball in front of the Spartan goal to a waiting forward who would take a hard shot that was once again knocked away by Harbison and cleared by Emerson. With 10 minutes to go in the match, Goodwin would re-enter the game and try to help the Spartans get the win. She got her first opportunity less than a minute later, when Paul sent the ball upfield to her where she outran two defenders, but got tripped up trying to get around the goalie, and the ball was eventually cleared by the MHS defense. Then in the 76th minute, Goodwin would get another opportunity when she made a run up the right sideline and beat the remaining defender, only to have her shot sail just wide of the near post. Then with two minutes left to play, the Spartans would get the chance they had been waiting for all night. Paul gained possession at midfield and led Weber up the field, but before Weber even got the ball, she spotted Goodwin stride-for-stride with the last defender. Weber put one of the finest single touches on a ball to redirect it out in front of the charging Goodwin with only the MHS goalie to beat. Goodwin got to the ball a split second before the charging goalie and sent the ball past the keeper into the back of the net to give SHS a 1-0 lead. Then as the remaining time ticked off the clock, you could hear the final 10 seconds counted out by the Stratford bench as they knew they had the victory locked up and their undefeated record intact.

The Lady Spartans face Jersey Village High School on the road on Tuesday and are back at home on Friday against Cy Fair High School, looking to stay undefeated in District.